TOM: And with Car Talk celebrating its 25th anniversary on NPR this fall (35th year overall, including our local years at WBUR)…

RAY: …and my brother turning over the birthday odometer to 75, we’ve decided that it’s time to stop and smell the cappuccino.

(Richard Howard)

Newly Produced Rebroadcasts, Using Archives

However, beginning in October the show “will continue to be distributed by NPR drawing on material from their 25 years of show archives,” according to the statement. That’s more than 1,200 shows.

“We can produce a great-sounding, fresh Car Talk show every week from the archives,” said Doug Berman, the show’s producer, in a letter to NPR. “[Its performance] will match the performance of the existing show.

“Basically, you’ll be getting a fresh, new, ‘Best of Car Talk’ to air every Saturday morning,” Berman added later in the letter.

… I want to express my gratitude to Tom and Ray and Doug Berman and his whole team. Their extraordinary work and endless hours of wit and wisdom and entertainment have delighted audiences across the country and the world. As most of you know, Car Talk began as a little experiment on WBUR and reached national distribution when Susan Stamberg heard about it and put a regular segment on Weekend Edition. The rest is history…. [Note: The show is now on 660 stations nationwide, with 3.3 million weekly listeners.]

…

We’re pleased that Car Talk with continue to be produced from its archival material. Doug assures me that there are years’ worth of material that have yet to be aired.

Tom and Ray have become icons to millions of fans, including me, over the last 25 years. I’m thrilled that they will continue to entertain and engage today’s fans and future fans for many years to come.

On Twitter, the reaction to the show’s announcement has been a mix of shock and sadness. Here’s a sampling (And here’s a Storify of much more Twitter reaction, and Here & Nowhas even more):

Update at 3:15 p.m.: The Nieman Journalism Lab reports on the history of the show:

It would air for a decade before WBUR hired [producer Doug] Berman to create a national pilot.

“I think this show benefited from 10 years of benign neglect in a lot of ways,” Berman told me. “They didn’t know what to do, and they weren’t getting paid. And they didn’t think anybody was listening. So they were just themselves.”